>>95968905
Even Star Trek hasn't solved all of its resource problems, creating bottlenecks. And the easier we make exploiting resources, the faster we start burning through them, requiring us to expend more and more resources into acquiring resources. It's not just about getting resources, but also denying them to your enemy for the power it grants you. There's plenty of oil in the Americas, but US still goes to other continents to get it, because it gives the control over it.